Chocolate Truffles & Adventures

Posted on February 15, 2008 
Filed Under Food

Update on the “Festival de Chocolate in Obidos“– it’s confirmed, we will be making the drive north, from Algarve to Obidos on Sunday. Can’t wait!

In the spirit of the Chocolate Festival, Moses and I couldn’t resist indulging in an appetizer, so to speak…so we made a small batch of handmade Chocolate & Port Truffles (you can find the recipe below) to kick start our chocolate adventures this weekend.

Yummy Chocolate Trufles

If you’re in Portugal between now, and the 24th of February, we highly recommend you make the Festival Chocolate in Obidos as part of your things to do.

As promised, we will be back with some delicious photos to share with you. So check back with us soon.

Chocolate & Port Truffle Recipe
Source: own | Quantity 10-15 Truffles
Difficulty: easy

Port Ganache Filling:
50g Cream
10g Corn Syrup
100g Quality Dark Chocolate, finely chopped
3g Butter
1Tbsp. Port wine

Chocolate Coating
100g of Quality Dark Chocolate, finely chopped

Dusting
30g of Quality Cocoa powder

  1. Make sure you cut and chop your chocolate (this helps with the melting phase)
  2. Mix the cream with corn syrup and bring to boil in a saucepan (takes under 60 seconds) so keep a close eye.
  3. Pour the hot cream mixture over your chocolate and let it sit for about 60 seconds, to allow the chocolate to melt.
  4. Using a spoon or spatula, (metal spoon is better so it doesn’t transfer any old flavours) stir until all of the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Once the ingredients are well melted and incorporated, add Port wine and mix through.
  5. Pour the mixture in a flat surface container, like a loaf pan, and let mixture coat bottom in a thin layer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or until the ganache is firm enough to roll.
  6. For the coating - melt the dark chocolate using the microwave or use a bain-marie (water bath) style. Take care not to over heat the chocolate, watch it closely and once its melted remove from heat source.
    *Note: If chocolate over heats or scorches, its very hard to work with and can ruin the rest of the recipe.
  7. Once the ganache has firmed up, remove from the fridge and scoop out about 1 teaspoon and roll into a ball between your palms. Then dip each ball into the melted chocolate, you can place each ball on the end of a fork and lower the fork into the chocolate, then tap on side of bowl to get excess off. Then roll dipped truffle ball in the cocoa powder to coat.
    *Note: If you have naturally warm hands, you may want to wash them with cold water for a few minutes to cool, then dry before working with the chocolate.

    If you use good quality dark chocolate and cocoa, you can make the truffle balls a bit smaller as they’re flavour is very powerful. You can keep them out of the fridge for 2 days and in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Freshly made chocolates are best eaten right away, especially if they have cream, so don’t “wait” until the right moment a week from now, eat them when their freshest.

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    • Comments

    5 Responses to “Chocolate Truffles & Adventures”

    1. Gabriella Opaz on February 15th, 2008 10:28 pm

      Mmmmm…chocolate, the only substance that touches my soul even more than wine! Thanks for sending me to bed with sweet dreams.

    2. Eddie on February 17th, 2008 9:04 pm

      Ola Gabriella,

      Ahhh…another sweet tooth! Happy to help :o) We just got back from the festival and couldn’t leave all the chocolate behind in Obidos, so we brought a few bars home with us, plus some pastries to fill that sweet tooth for the next few days. The sweets aren’t going to slow down here in the Algarve, between now and Easter…so looks like we’ll have to put in A LOT more time at the gym! The price of indulgence :o)

    3. Algarve Info on February 19th, 2008 6:04 pm

      I am definatley going to try to make it down to Obidos next week. Some friends went last year and have been raving about the Chocolates they bought down there.

    4. Festival de Chocolate Obidos - Chocolate Adventures Update on February 23rd, 2008 10:17 pm

      [...] and full of adventure but not quite in the way we thought : [...]

    5. maik on February 28th, 2008 2:24 pm

      me loves chocolate truffles :D. thanks for the recipe

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